Words
by kryptofan974
Summary: After the sudden loss of a friend, Linus tries to find the right words to comfort Charlie Brown, who tries to cope with his own feelings of guilt and depression. Oneshot, rated T for talk of death.


Charlie Brown could accept a lot.

He could accept being invisible to the Little Red-Haired Girl.

He could accept that he managed a baseball team that barely got one run each season.

He could even accept that he was considered a "failure face" amongst his peers, even his friends…for he would always pick himself up and try to better himself, or try something again.

But he could not accept that his closest companion was gone…

In the gloomy shadows of his room, Charlie Brown fiddled with the black, leather collar between his small fingers. He sat on the edge of the bed, mindlessly feeling the material, letting his memories come and go, like a wave washing over him and receding back into the sea.

He remembered how he bought that collar with money he had saved. He remembered telling Snoopy this, at a time where he felt the beagle did not appreciate what he had done for him, and how Snoopy had offered the collar back in a sarcastic gesture. It almost made his chuckle a little.

Charlie Brown did not dare look outside, in case his eye caught the red doghouse that doubled as a fighter plane, the Sopwith Camel. He remembered all the times Snoopy had "fought" the Red Baron and proven himself a great World War I flying ace.

He gulped, and immediately felt nauseous as he suddenly remembered the accident…shot by shot, as if the world had become the playback function of a tape…

"I didn't mean to chase him so close to the road…." He kept telling himself. "It was a game of tag…I didn't know…"

No one knew or expected that playful game of tag to end with the collision of dog and vehicle…and Charlie Brown had not expected to see it all with his own eyes…

Suddenly, there was a knock at his door. Charlie Brown sat up straight, cleared his throat and steadied his voice.

"Yes? Who is it?"

A timid voice on the other side answered, "It's Linus…may I come in…?"

_Linus…_, Charlie Brown thought. His best human friend, who always accepted his flaws…the voice of reason amongst his peers…

"Y-yes, come in. The door is unlocked…" he hoarsely replied. The handle squeaked and the door slowly opened; a trail of yellow light from outside enveloped the dismal room. The young boy in the bright red striped shirt, with a light blue baby blanket in hand, quietly walked inside and shut the door behind him. A silence hung over the two boys.

Linus twisted his blanket in his hands nervously, unsure of what to say. In times like these, he would always try to provide comforting words, or maybe even recite one of the Scriptures. But now, he had a hard time finding the correct words…

"Um, h-how are you feeling, Charlie Brown?" Linus asked awkwardly. Another long silence came between them before Charlie Brown shrugged a little and murmured, "Alright…"

Linus took a deep breath, "The, uh, the kids at school miss you…they were wondering where you have been the past few days…I told them about…" he paused and chose his words carefully, "…the circumstances, and…well…" his voice trailed off.

Charlie Brown did not look up once from the collar in his hands.

"I'm really sorry, Charlie Brown. I don't know what to say…"

"There's nothing _to_ say, Linus. My dog is dead. End of story."

Linus flinched, not expecting the angry comment from his friend.

Another long silence passed before Linus stifled the nervous shake in his voice, and tenderly asked, "Well….do you want to talk about it?"

Charlie Brown's hands stopped and he looked up. He had not talked about it since it had happened. Sure, he explained it to some, but he never had talked in full detail about it, as one would to a counselor or a therapist. He had not even gone to Lucy's psychiatrist booth to seek help.

He let out a long sigh before he nodded. Linus smiled a little, and climbed up on the bed next to his friend. Linus glanced at Charlie Brown's face. The boy had stayed home from school for a few days to lament the loss, and the emotion and stress showed on his face. The pale face brought out the bloodshot eyes and purple bags underneath them. Linus felt sorry for his friend, imagining how many days of crying and torment he had to go through. The two were quiet before Linus uttered,

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Charlie Brown…he was a great dog…" Linus clenched his fists as he resisted the urge to cry, "But you cannot go blaming yourself for what happened…"

"Who said I was blaming myself?" Charlie Brown retorted, quite bitterly.

"Come on, it's written all over your face. You usually blame yourself for things you are not even responsible for, anyway."

"Well, who else do I blame it on; the driver? He did not even see Snoopy run out onto the road before it was too late." Charlie Brown snapped, his entire body starting to shake with anger.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Well, you did. But its fine, we might as well talk about it while it is out in the open." The volume in his voice rose as he continued, "Yeah, I blame it on myself, but for good reason. _I _was the one who suggested we play tag. _I_ chased him so close to the road. _I_ didn't look where I was going, and _I_ didn't warn him in time!"

Linus also began to shake, but out of fear. He had never seen his friend this upset before.

"I could have warned him, I saw the car coming…I should have warned him…he would be alive if it wasn't for me! You still think this isn't my fault, Linus?! I PRACTICALLY DID EVERYTHING BUT PUSH HIM IN FRONT OF THE CAR!"

Linus moved back a little, frightened.

"And as if THAT wasn't enough, I couldn't even help him when he was lying on the pavement! His legs and arms were broken, and who knows what else! He was covered in blood and…a-and…" Charlie Brown's face paled and his sudden anger died down rapidly. Instead, he weakly stuttered, "And…he ended up…dying…right in my arms…"

His hands trembled. "He smiled at me…why did he smile…? Why…? He was dying…why did he…?"

The collar fell through his fingers and landed on the floor with a soft thump. Linus looked at Charlie Brown and felt his heart sink; there were tears streaming down his face. Linus took his blanket and gently wrapped it around Charlie Brown's shoulders, who stared at him blankly.

Linus smiled sadly, tears running down his own face, and Charlie Brown suddenly hugged him, sobbing loudly. The two cried together, feeling the great weight of the loss of their canine friend.

After a while, Linus wiped his eyes on his sleeve and murmured, "I am so sorry Charlie Brown…but you can't blame yourself…Snoopy wouldn't want that…"

Charlie Brown simply nodded, still weeping into his friend's shoulder.

"And, besides, our loved ones never truly die…" Linus' voice cracked as he desperately tried to reassure his friend, "they live on in our hearts and our memories. Snoopy isn't gone forever."

Charlie Brown sat up and rubbed his eyes, looking at Linus somberly.

Linus smiled once more and grabbed Charlie Brown's left hand gently, "He will always be with you. I know it is hard to think like that at the moment…but try to remember it. Okay?"

Charlie Brown stared at the younger boy for a minute, and processed everything that he had said. He looked up at the ceiling, imagining the playful beagle looking down at them from heaven, watching over them.

And, he suddenly felt the great heavy weight on his heart lift a little. He had a lot of great memories that were shared with Snoopy, and they all came back, as if to comfort him. His love of suppertime, his escapades as the World's Greatest anything, their short separation and reunion…everything…

The boy smiled and replied, "Thank you, Linus. I really needed that."

Linus patted Charlie Brown's hand before he released it and said, "This is what friends are for."

He jumped down from the bed and remarked, "Well, I have to be going home now, but if you want, I can come by later."

Charlie Brown nodded, "That would be great. I'm, well, not really comfortable with being alone at the moment…" he nervously rubbed his arm.

Linus replied, "Then I will see you later tonight, Charlie Brown. I hope you feel better and keep your chin up." The young boy gave one last smile at his best friend before he left, blanket trailing behind.

After a while, Charlie Brown picked up the collar from the floor, and laid down on the bed, holding it close to his heart. He continued to smile and he looked up at the ceiling.

"I know that I had always said I wanted a normal dog like everyone else," he explained out loud, "but I'm glad you weren't normal…"

A sweet song came in through the window, and Charlie Brown looked to see Woodstock. The little yellow bird was sitting on the windowsill, sadly tweeting, mourning the loss as well. He caught the eye of the boy, and flew inside, sitting next to him on the bed. The two sat and looked up, somber but hopeful as they thought of all the happy times with their favorite beagle…


End file.
